Does the Rockets front office have a problem with Sengun?

He was 19 last year? 20? Our offense ran at its best at times running through him. Curious how we’ve come to the conclusion he’ll never be serviceable on defense in such a limited sample size.

 

Never forget Sengun was willing to shoot before Silas just randomly told him not to shoot. Sengun was so scared of being benched, he was pumping faking in his nightmares.

 

All I know is if we let him go we are 100% getting Lauri Markkanen'd

 

Taking 3s makes you pluggable? That makes zero sense.
Alp does need to add range, but he also makes plays for others. That’s more pluggable than bricking open 3s imo.

 

It's weird, many times through the season I felt Sengun was our most talented player, even defensively I felt he was trying, so just so weird when you hear the opposite of what the eye test tells you from the front office.

 

I'm subbed to Sengun"s Only Fans, idc. I do not want Sengun traded. I hate the "if rockets dont want him they should trade him" talk too.

if Sengun is traded, I'm not going to root for him.. I'm going to root for the Rockets to be right.

 

Sengun was very NBA ready, he is making the right plays, he is making the right rotations. He gets it. Very smart player.

His lack of speed, lateral quickness, length, just basically every physical tool required to be a good defender is not going to change.

So, if you accept this (and its obvious many people are still struggling with this), its clear what the Rockets are doing and why they are doing it.

 

There's a difference between saying that he has no athleticism, and saying that it's something he lacks in the context of the NBA. He's clearly athletic in the context of just humans existing on the planet, but that's clearly not what I'm talking about.

In the context of the NBA, he has slow feet and slow lateral mobility and those things will get worse over time. I'm sure they can limit the liability with scheme to a certain extent, but there's only so much that can be done. If his offense overshadows it, he'll be fine.

 

If you could be bothered (and I don't recommend it!) trawl back through my posts, at some stage last year I suggested Smith would be a 12-7 guy, and that he would do nothing for most of the season, peaking after the all-star break. This was based on my observations of Silas' coaching methodology.
I don't think there was a lot of accountability, and I do think there was an intent to be bad by letting young guys play lots of minutes without a lot of instruction. While I don't recommend searching, it was a prediction that proved true.

So any minutes over the last 2 seasons are irrelevant to discussions going forward.

Who deserves to start this year? Wait and see.
On the 2 players you mentioned, what we have observed from the last 2 seasons re: Green is that he has good scoring potential (22ppg is good for 23rd in the NBA), with the potential to be a lead scorer on an NBA team. Defensively he is a complete mess. And he hasn't had the luxury of playing with a 'proper' creative player.
Smith has a strong defensive potential without having played alongside other committed defenders. The last quarter of the season, he was 15-7 on good percentages. Of all our rookies he shows the most promise to being a genuine 2-way player, but overall had a horrible rookie season. Sadly (to me) this means his potential trade value is lower than it otherwise should be.

If the last 2 seasons are a write off, then what case can be made for either of those 2 starting? None. They should earn it based on what happens with coach Udoka. As should all of our players.
If either one of them (or anyone other Rocket) find themselves relegated to the bench, I certainly won't be constructing a conspiracy theory that the organisation has it in for them. I believe they will all will be (and should be!) held accountable.

 

I’m so ready for the season to start, god damn. This bickering about Sengun is so empty when there aren’t any games being played.

 

What a concept. Sengun has to earn it.

 

Everyone has their biases on what is considered talent. Green probably is the most talented player. Sengun with his significant pro experience before the NBA has made him a more effective player for now.

Talent and effectiveness isn't the same thing.

 

Yes, Eli is the hold over from Morey who is the stat head, he was the one who wanted Sengun and wanted Mobley over Green. Eli has been proven right at every step of the way, you would think that his history of credibility would also mean growing influence in the front office. Even if he had to convince Stone to draft Sengun, Eli was influential enough where Stone listened. And now with Ime in the fold we have two adults in the room. I trust that Ime will play the player who helps him win without bias, and if that player is Sengun then it will only validate those like Eli.

 

Jokic is not a good defender.

But hey, turns out being a once in a generation talent has its advantageous.